In the context of worldwide demographic changes and a rapidly growing “greying” population, dementia emerged as an increasingly acute medical and socio-political problem during the last decades. Nowadays, dementia is recognised in public health domains as a political problem due to the considerable social, economic and financial impacts and costs that come along with it. Within this setting, new focal points concerning dementia research such as genomics research have a significant effect on health care strategies and policies in the respective field. Because dementia is not conceived as a normal part of the ageing process, great scientific efforts are made to develop and enhance diagnosis, cure, treatment and care to be able to cope with future demographic developments. With regard to the question of efficiency and efficacy, these endeavours entail a repercussion on the management of dementia. At the same time and as a result of different and changing understandings of dementia and the conditions that may cause it, new ways of governing dementia occurred during the last years. In trying to meet these socio-political challenges, the conference will address several important aspects of governing dementia in the genomic and global era.

The conference will not only facilitate a debate and provide a discussion forum between researchers and practitioners, working in the medical scientific and socio-political area with regard to dementia. Most notably, the conference will present an innovative way of dealing with dementia as a medical and at the same time socio-political problem. Instead of looking at the medical scientific point of view on the one hand and on a political and social point of view on the other hand, the conference aims at simultaneously focussing on and exploring interrelated practices in the relevant fields. At the same time, the conference intends to investigate the mutual impact of involved actor groups on shaping the understanding of dementia, ranging from scientists in genome research and clinicians to affected groups and relevant political actors, embedded within regional practices, national boundaries and global knowledge.